Indonesia says Inpex, Shell to invest in Masela onshore LNG project

[JAKARTA] Japanese oil firm Inpex Corp and Royal Dutch Shell are expected to invest in the construction of Indonesia's onshore Masela liquefied natural gas plant, an energy regulator official said on Thursday.

"Inpex and Shell have no plan to withdraw from the Masela block. They will stay, but they need time to redo their plan for onshore," said Amien Sunaryadi, head of Indonesia's upstream oil and gas regulator, SKKMigas.

Indonesia's president on Wednesday rejected Inpex and Shell's proposal to build the world's largest floating liquefied natural gas plant in the country's east, saying an onshore plant would benefit its economy more.

The two companies on Wednesday declined to immediately comment on the matter as they said they had not received official notification on the decision.

REUTERS